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Dreadnaught
First designed in the ending days of the First Interstellar War by the Khanate of Orion, the Dreadnought (Hull code SD in older rules, DN as of the Unified Tech Manual of Revised 3rd Edition) would be the premeir warship of all the stellar nations till the introduction of the Monitor in the Fourth Interstellar War. Notable Warship Classes The Razumond Class - The first SD class to see service and brain child of Varnik'Sheerino. This class proved to the TFN and the KON that ships of this size were possible. The very existance of the class actually drove the two sides to the climactic battle of ISW1. The Sharno/Ypres Class - Again a brainchild of Varnik'Sheerino, the Sharno class SD(V) were valuable fighter platforms during ISW3 against the Rigellians. Originally intended to support the Grand Alliance's CV and CVL squadrons, the Sharno class would go on to be used as planetary bombardment carriers and fleet defense units against the mass kamikazi attacks that were common during the closing days of the Rigellian conflict. The Ypres class is actually the name for TFN produced copies of this class and the class is unique in the fact that half the KON hulls were built in TFN yards. The Cromwell Class - The predominate SD class of the TFN during ISW3. Several survivors of this class would have the distinction of forming the backbone of the Reserve Fleet during the Theban War and would pay a heavy price for their service in stopping the Theban juggernaut due to their age. The Nanda Devi Class - Workhorse of the TFN during the Theban War and eventual standard to which all surviving Churchill, Cromwell, and McKinley class SDs were refitted to in the years during and immediately following the Theban War. The Nanda Devi displayed the desire of the TFN in this era and subsequent years of leaving Battleships and Dreadnoughts as the battle line's direct energy sluggers and faster Battle Cruisers as the fleet's capital missile bombarment platforms. A mineclearing variant would be developed during the war, the Finsteraarhorn class. The Alois Saint-Just Class - The Theban main SD class during the Theban War. Known for being a powerful combatant due to the X-Ray Laser system they carried into battle. The Sumash Class - This Theban class did a great deal to end the Theban War. A massive capital missile platform designed to balance the odds verse the TFN's faster SBM armed battle cruiser groups, an attempt to create an 'unsinkable' missile platform. The massive amount of manpower diverted to building the Sumash class of SD®s detrimentally set back the carrier project once the Thebans realized they needed them, leaving 30 partially completed hulls to be completely abandoned after only 13 were completed. The Mount Hood Class - The definitive TFN SD of the Fourth Interstellar War, these were the backbone of the battleline and saw many refits over the course of the decade long war. Well protected, these direct energy sluggers were prized and saw a large number built before and during the war years. The command datalink variant was known as the Mekong class and this variant would be used in both regular SD and SD® squadrons. Mount Hood class SDs would continue to serve up through the Terran Civil War in the shadow of the monitors that now dominated the battle lines of the post ISW-4 galaxy. The Matterhorn Class - Influenced by the Theban Sumash class, the Matterhorn class SD® was the heavy bombardment platform of the battle line, offering an impressive amount of fire... especially in command datalink groups. Like the Mount Hood class, they would see a number of refits to improve their capability during the war years. Matterhorn class SDs would continue to serve up through the Terrain Civil War. The Varnik'Sheerino Class - The pre-eminant KON SD command ship of ISW4 and an example of KON thinking and design before and during the war years. With the KON's love of the strike fighter, the Varnik'Sheerino class carried two squadrons of fighters into battle. Infact, all KON SDs were designed to embark fighters while still maintaining a heavy weapons load out. This meant that a KON SD was less resillient to damage than it's TFN counterpart but to the KON, this was not a weakness and to many, having integral fighter support was a blessing during ISW4. The Mandrygn Class - Noteworthy only because this class of KON SD® was actually an ISW4 refit of a ISW3 class, by that point over 120 years old. This class' original designation was Chumalzchr III, a heavy beam SD but it's ISW incarnation would see it as a class that could match the Matterhorns in throw weight and with a small integral fighter compliment. Like the Varnik'Sheerino class, they sacrificed protect for this capability. It was testiment to the longivity of the design, or perhaps the pragmatism of the KON, that it would see new models continue produced through out the conflict. The Arachnid Omnivoracity's SD classes - The Arachnids nearly had an SD for every role and no study of the Fourth Interstellar War can be done without mentioning the mountains of SDs that they utilized. The main design types were the Archer class SD class missile platforms, the Avalanche class SD force beam ships, the Auger class SD primary beam armed ships, and the Acid class SD warp point assault ship. Later on in the war, the Arachnids would introduce the Arbalest class SD(E) into their ranks. Again, it can not be emphisized enough just what effect the mass SD formations of the Arachnids had during the early phases of the Fourth Interstellar War. Category:Ships